Panhellenic Council pairs shopping with philanthropy

For those who love fashion, an event hosted on Saturday by the Panhellenic Council found a way to couple shopping with philanthropy.

This year, Panhel switched its main philanthropic outreach from Operation Warm to the Rena Rowan Breast Center.

Operation Warm is a charitable organization that provides new winter coats to children in need.

Panhel and Operation Warm have partnered together since 2008.

In an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian last week, newly elected Panhel president and College junior Jill Wang said Panhel’s relationship with Operation Warm “unfortunately fell through,” and added they “weren’t very easy to deal with and weren’t being very responsive.”

She declined to comment further on the relationship between Panhel and Operation Warm.

Panhel has since picked up as its primary charity the Rena Rowan Breast Center, which provides cancer treatment, screening and psychological support for women who cannot afford it otherwise. Over the past few years, Panhel has donated more than $55,000 to the Rowan Center, Wang said.

She added that the center is “a pleasure to work with.”

Saturday afternoon, Panhel organized Breast Buy: Rena Rowan Shop for the Cure — a shopping event held at the new boutique Piper, located at 34th and Walnut streets. Fifteen percent of all profits will go to support the treatment center, and students had the opportunity to make cash donations at the register. Panhel also sold Insomnia Cookies, donating fifty percent of the profits to the cause.

Piper also had window displays showing different examples of “recruitment outfits” for those wondering what to wear to rush events.

This year, Panhel’s goal was to raise $3,000. Wang said she hopes to have final fundraising numbers calculated by this week.

This is not the first philanthropic event Panhel has held in support of Rena Rowan. The 5K run during Greek Week earlier this semester and other study break events supported the center.

“The event was a huge success, and we were able to bring in a lot of business to Piper,” Wang said. “We are so pleased with the turnout and have raised several hundred dollars already for Rena Rowan this week and are excited to see the final numbers.”

Students involved in sororities attended the event to show their support for Panhel and experience the new boutique.

College sophomore and Kappa Alpha Theta sister Sabrina Garcia thought the idea was a “clever” way to reach out to the student body. She added that she enjoyed shopping because “you’re not just buying for the sake of buying.”

College sophomore and Delta Delta Delta sister Caroline Quigley agreed, adding that she thought it was a great idea because people “will feel less bad” about shopping because “you also get something out of it.”

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